ALLEGED CATTLE-STEALING.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 September 1922, Page 7

ALLEGED CATTLE-STEALING.

THREE MEN CHARGED. SOUTH TARANAKI CASE. A series of charges of cattle-thieving and I fraud against three young men were heard . by Mr. A. M. Mowleni, S.M., at the Eltham 1 Court, yesterday. t Charles Arnold Slight and James Richard Slight were charged with stealing one Jersey bull, valued at £3O, and one Jersey grade cow valued at £2O, from James R. Corrigan, at Fraser Road, Hawera, on December 5, 1921. The Slight brothers and William Charles Joseph were also charged with stealing 15 cows, the property of . Louis Hector McSweeney and E. J. Hickey, at on July 2i, 1922. The three men were further charged with attempting to defraud His Majesty the King, by at tempting, to sell a Jersey bull which was included in a bill of sale held by the Lands -Department as security against loans advanced. The prosecution was conducted by the Crown Prosecutor (Mr. C. H. Weston) and , Mr. F. C. Spratt appeared for the defence. ;It was agreed to take the two charges against the three men together. Th outlining the case for the prosecution, Mr. Weston said the accused Slight were returned soldiers who were assisted by the Crown, who lent them sufficient money to stock and lease a farm. Things did not go too well, and the Crown stepped in and sold the stock. The rent was in arrears, and stock were missing. At one time it was considered whether the Slights should be put on another farm and that the stock should be removed, but the project had to be abandoned. All the accused lived in the same house. Some distance away from their farm was a farm owned bv Hickey and McSweeney, two returned "soldiers, who also suffered a failure and abandoned their farm. As Hickey and McSweeney were leaving their farm, the Slights suggested to McSweeney that 17 of McSweeney’s best cows should be exchanged for 17 of the worst of the Slights, and this was done under cover of darkness and in secrecy. When the proposition that the Slights should be put on another farm fell through, a sale of their stock was held. Out of the 17 exchanged with McSweeney, 11 were sold.

In the meantime McSweeney had left his farm and a man named Greig was placed in charge of his cattle on behalf of the department. On the night of July 20, the day before Slights’ sale, 15 cows disappeared from McSweeney’s farm, the locked gate having been taken off its hinges. A day or two later 11 cows were found outside McSweeney’s gate. All were McSweeney’s, some of them being from the 17 exchanged with Slights and some of the 15 which had disappeared. The suggestion was that they came from the Slight Bros.’ property. W. H. Norton, of Stratford, said that about 12 months ago he sold a Jersey bull at N. King’s yards at Stratford. He identified the animal. C. S. Williams, auctioneer for Newton King, Stratford, remembered Norton selling two bulls, one to Slight Bros, and one to another man. Slight Bros, paid £l5 l*)s for their bull. A. H. Featherston, Crown lands ranger, said he had a good deal to do with passing of stock and generally supervising the stock and lands of returned soldiers. Slight Bros, were debited with 82 cows, a bull and 25 pigs. On July 6he found 58 cows and heifers and two bulls on the place. He asked James Slight to account for the difference, and was told that the brothers had had a lot of bad luck, and a number of the cows had died. James could only definitely account for some of the cows. The deaths during the year, witness was told, numbered 15. Since the interview with Slight Bros., witness, with others, had searched the farm for carcases and had only found three, two others being pointed out by McWhirter, who accompanied him. Eventually Slight Bros.’ stock was sold on July 21. Immediately prior to the sale witness was notified of the alleged theft of cattle, and as soon as the sale was over he went to McSweeney’s farm and found that 15 cows were gone. Next day witness. Constable Townsend and Hector McSweeney went out to Hickey and McSweeney’s farm and mustered the stock. Witness had learned by this time of an exchange of stock between McSweeney and Slight Bros. When the cattle had been mustered they found 10 originally belonging to Slight Bros. These were branded. Before this time one of those cattle concerned in the exchange had died. Witness and his companions then went round to the purchasers to identify those cattle originally belonging to McSweeney which had been sold at the sale. Of the 17 exchanged cattle with Slight, nine were identified among the purchasers. The other eight were originally McSweeney’s but were not concerned in the exchange. Going back to Hickey and McSweeney’s farm aftir the tour of identification, they found 11 cows had been returned in the interim. These McSweeney had identified as his own. Going then to one Powell’s farm, they found seven cows and a Jersey bull inside the paddock, and another bull on the road. Two of the seven cows bore the sale brand. The other five and one bull were brought to Eltham.

Maurice Greig, who was appointed by the department to take care of the farm abandoned by Hickey and McSweeney, said that when he found 15 cows had been taker, off the farm he informed Featherston, and together they made a more thorough investigation. He detailed how the gate bore the appearance of having been lifted off its hinges because it was locked. The footprints of cattle were followed down the road towards Hawera. There were also the footprints of two horses, one shod an 1 one unshot. One horse appeared to have turned the cattle back towards Eltham, while the other went on towards Haweri. Detailing the return of 11 cows to McSweeney’s farm, witness said he followed the tracks to see where they came from for about a mile along the Tirimoana Road, towards the Slights’ property. L. H. McSweeney, at present employed on the Hunter Road, said for the two previous seasons he was in partnership with Hickey on the farm. They could not make the farm pay, and so abandoned it. When their stock was to be sold, James Slight suggested that they should exchange 17 of their best cows for 17 of the worst of Slights’. Witness concluded that, as the cows were all Crown property, there was no harm in the suggestion, which was carried into effect. He left the farm shortly afterwards. Going back to his old place with the constable on July 22, the day aft.T Slights’ sale, he found that 15 cows were missing seven of those originally belonging to Slights and eight of his own original herd. The evidence for the prosecution was completed at a late hour last night, and the court adjourned till 9 a.m. to-day.